


The Idiot's Guide to Falling in Love

by LadyMelinoe



Category: TFS at the Table, Team Four Star at the Table
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, F/M, Long-Distance Relationship, Romantic Fluff, Teenage Hormones, Teenage Nerds, and the tfs at the table ao3 tag, brick by brick and board by board i will build this house of calliowake, btw calliopes mine now zito, good luck getting her back
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-05-09 22:59:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14725220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyMelinoe/pseuds/LadyMelinoe
Summary: How much longer will it take to cure thisJust to cure it cause I can't ignore it if it's loveMakes me want to turn around and face me but I don't know nothing 'bout love





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote the entirety of this first chapter at 4am on a Monday because I needed to get it into existence. I hope you enjoy the teenage fluff as much as I do.

To the surprise of Calliope, people were exhausting.

Yes, she was glad to see her kin again. Yes, she was jazzed out of her fucking mind to meet a literal prince. Yes, she was glad that the nightmare was finally over. But good lord she needed to shut it all out for a little bit.

She closed the door behind her of her room ( _HER room!!)_ she fell face first into the new bed her grandpa prepared for her. She giggled, kicking her hooves like a kid as she rolled herself up like a Callio-burrito, tangling herself in the soft linen.

Her life was finally going to start. It took ten long years, but she was finally able to be a girl and bathe in the peace.

Though the peace was going to have to wait as a bird slammed into her bedroom window, somehow managing to knock it open.

Calliope screamed, flailing wildly as she attempted to free herself from her self-made fabric prison and hopefully chase the stupid bird out of her room. She fell from the bed, landing on the floor with a dull thud. She grunted and freed her head, locking eyes with an unnaturally blue seagull that gave a deep voiced, “Hello?”

She stared blankly. Attempting to register what was going on as it began speaking.

 

> _Hello? Hellooo? How do I-_ _Fuck how does this thing work?_ _\- oh god it’s recording already. Uh… Hey Calliope. It’s Wake. I’m… recording this. I guess. It’s a little weird but, I thought it’d be nice to… keep talking to you._

Calliope crossed her legs, slowly smiling and fiddling with her glass shark effigy as the familiar voice came out tinny from a little bird. She didn’t think about it much on the way home, but she was surprisingly going to miss the band of mercenaries that helped her out. She leaned in, listening as the bird replicated the sound of a door opening in the background.

 

> _Since you’re going to be back at your home and I’m gonna be… at sea and all-_ _ Oh are you recording the thing for Calliope- _ _ EZRA YOU’RE TAKING WORD SPACE-   _

She covered her mouth, snorting at the all too brief interaction taking up what was apparently valuable space for him to talk to her.

 

> _Oh god how many words do I have left? Anyway, I wanted to keep in touch so I got this thing and it can only remember so many words. So you need to be careful with recording what you say otherwise you’ll run out of space. So yeah- anywayIhopetohearbackfromyousoonbye._

The bird’s beak opened, gaping in her direction as she helplessly giggled. Why was she just so tickled by all of this? It was just… really nice to hear Wake speak. She got used to his presence over her time on the Yeldin. There was just something so sweet about this whole thing. He really went through the trouble of getting a communication device for the two of them?

Calliope scooped up the seagull, freezing as she realized she just spent half her message giggling over the whole thing, “Oh fuck-” She turned the gull over, not sure how this was helping the situation out.

“Uh- Hi Wake! It’s Calliope and I have no idea where the word count is on this thing!” She gave a small chuckle.

_‘Come on Calliope! Think of something to say! Impress him with your conversation skills!’_

“How’s the sea?”

_‘THAT IS NOT IMPRESSIVE CONVERSATION SKILLS’_

She gripped the seagull a little tighter, feeling infinitely more awkward and unsure of how this thing even worked. It was so much easier when she was physically around him! He was really easy to just be around! They could just walk around in silence and now she has to figure out how to actually use words to convey thoughts that hopefully impress him.

“Oh-! Also ah, thank you for getting this! You really didn’t need to, but it was really nice. I liked talking to you.”

_‘Oh god that’s not too much is it? Oh god my hands are sweating.’_

“Sorry about giggling half my message away, you just made me laugh-” The bird’s maw snapped closed and she stared at it in disbelief.

 _‘I HAD MORE TO SAY YOU STUPID BIRD!’_ She thought, grip tightening as she shook it back and forth. And to her surprise the beak opened again! _‘Huh that was easier than I thought.’_

“Please describe your recipient now.” A chirpy artificial voice spoke out and Calliope had to face the reality that her message was mostly her laughing followed by cut off message.

She slumped forward, groaning into the floorboards. She had no idea how long this thing was flying or how long it will fly before he got her message, but she really hoped he got this before the week ended. It’d be painfully embarrassing to send a nice message and just get a faun’s gigglesnorting a month later.

“...Wake Scalebound. Merman on the vessel the Yeldin.”

“Processing… Wake Scalebound. Recipient Confirmed.”

The blue sea bird squirmed out of her grasp and flew from her window, soaring with surprising speed.

She watched it as it flew away, soaring over the horizon to where she could only assume Wake was waiting. Her chin propped on the window sill, staring in the direction it flew. And as soon as it left, she was already excited to see it come back over the horizon.

Hopefully it wouldn’t take too long.

 

* * *

 

“Hold beak to delete message…” Wake sat at the stern of Yeldin, pouring over the handwritten notes from Larry that gave the instructions on how to work the messenger bird. He didn’t want to have another snafu when sending another message to Calliope. The last time was embarrassing enough.

He grumbled under his breath, still struggling to read Legitimate Larry’s bubbly handwriting. He could probably hand the note off to Redd or someone to maybe rewrite it in a way that wasn’t impossible to read. Wake sighed, laying back against the railing and staring vacantly at the horizon that the bird first flew over.

It had only been a few days since he sent the message. Was that enough time? Did someone think it was a spy message and intercept it? Gods only knew what could’ve happened. Maybe she didn’t respond?

He sighed, closing his eyes.

And then shortly opening his eyes again as a bird landed on his lap. A bright blue seagull that opened its beak and produced a girlish giggle. Wake’s heart fluttered in his chest as he scooped the seagull, bolting to his room to hear Calliope’s response.

“GOING TO MY ROOM DON’T BOTHER ME DOIN A THING!” Wake yelled as he ran past a few of his shipmates, slamming the door behind him and bolting it as he flung himself onto his bed and released the bird.

It adjusted itself, opening its beak as it repeated the sound of Calliope giggling. Wake couldn’t help but smile at her delight, and the way her voice cracked at the realization that the bird was recording it the whole time. There was some muffled moving sounds, like she was trying to figure out what to do with the body of the bird while recording a message.

Wake crossed his legs, listening intently as she stumbled her way through a message back to him. Through the awkward pauses, sound of her moving the recorder, and her cut off sentence. Her voice was like music to him.

Wake reread the instructions he was given, figuring out how to replay the message. It was the most ridiculous thing he had ever done, feeling so warm and fuzzy as he listened to her giggling. He didn’t know she snorted when she laughed, and it was the absolute cutest thing he had ever heard.

He replayed her laughter over and over, smiling the dopiest smile he ever had. He hugged the bird to his chest, falling back onto the mattress. Wake covered his face with a free hand, unable to wipe the massive smile off his face.

Feelings were foreign, but if they could always feel this good he’d never stop.

He let the seagull stand on his chest as he recorded the next of many messages he’d send to her.

“Your laugh is _adorable-_ ”


	2. Chapter 2

“Haha!” Calliope laughed, a too wide smile on her face as a group of aasimar and elves gathered around to hear her tale. Her tale that was being retold by an elf who had heard it second hand from someone who served the prince directly. She had no idea what they were saying anymore. The fact that they were bunched around her was giving her anxiety. 

She glanced, person to person, attempting to reconcile this as her new reality. People who knew her. And that she didn’t need to fear groups anymore. They weren’t the possessed deer anymore, she had nothing to fear! 

Though as if a miracle from the gods themselves, Wake once again rescues her from dire situations as the familiar blue seagull swooped down and landed in her hands. 

_ ‘Your laugh-’  _ Calliope pinched the beak of the seagull, politely excusing herself from the crowd. 

“Important message and all!” She chirped happily, running off to her home. 

Though just behind her she could hear them laugh and someone from the group say the words ‘Young Love’. Calliope blushed at the notion but she had bigger things to think about. Things like Wake saying something about her laughter. 

“HI GRAMPA BYE GRAMPA GONNA BE IN MY ROOM, DOIN A THING!” She ran up the stairs of their shared home, ducking into her room and excitedly kicking her hooves as she released the beak. 

> _ ‘Your laugh is adorable- Uh- I-... it’s just cute that you laughed that much over it. I hope it was a good laugh. Not laughing at me.’  _

“Of course I wasn’t laughing at you…” Calliope murmured, sitting on a chair, resting the bird in her lap. 

> _ ‘The sea is good though! We’ve been having some weird times but… I’ve seen worse.’  _ She could hear him shifting,  _ ‘We had some problems with these things called torpedo slugs. They’re… they’re really bad snails that drink blood? And we’ve kinda been beached on this island because they came with a fog of something. It’s really weird.’  _

Calliope cocked her head, propping her chin up on her knuckles. They really stumble into weird adventures. Then again if they didn’t, maybe they would’ve never found her.

> _ ‘But ah- I can tell you more when we visit Venin again.’  _

Calliope perked up at that comment, squirming with excitement over the idea of seeing them again. It hadn’t been that long, and she hadn’t known them for too long, but the thought of seeing Wake again- 

Calliope paused, closing the beak of the seagull again to grab the closest pillow to her and shove her face into it. 

She didn’t really know much about whatever this could be classified as, considering her only teacher for sex ed and body changes and general romance were books she scavenged from empty houses. Though some of the books she found were a little… ribald with their tales, she got the gist of it. 

Was this romance? 

Did she want romance? 

Calliope paused on that thought, sinking into the chair and yelling incoherently into her pillow. If romance was possible, she wouldn’t mind finding it. She wouldn’t mind finding it with Wake either… 

She fell back, resting on the arms of her chair while she screamed more, confused by these weird emotions that she can’t verbalize correctly. 

It was nice but the most terrifying thing she could think of. 

If he liked her, how would she know? There were weird things that happened with him, but maybe those were just coincidences? But then again he bought her the dress and wagered against a lawyer for it when he tried to buy it out from underneath him. 

Calliope slowly pulled away from her pillow, steadying her breathing and remembering that Wake had the rest of a message for her. 

> ‘ _ Also pull the tail on the bird, it’ll tell you how to use it. Learned that one by accident. The written instructions weren’t clear. Until next time, Calliope.’  _

She sighed, pulling on the tail of the seagull to prompt the artificial voice to explain how to use the seagull. Information she would’ve loved to know before her first message. But… he called her adorable at least. ‘ _ Is that a sign he likes me?’  _

Calliope pinched the beak of the bird, releasing it and letting it just hang open so she could record her message back, “You’re really going to come back here?” 

She settled into the chair, “I mean I know you talked about making Venin the base for your show and all, but it’s still exciting. How did the slug thing work out by the way? I can’t imagine it was very fun.” 

She paused, thinking for a moment, tugging on a loose strand of hair. It was so choppy, and barely reached her shoulders. She had cut her hair herself for so long that she never really thought about how it looked on her. Everything beforehand was just… survival. 

“...Do you think I’d look good with long hair?” She stared at the beams that ran along the ceiling, tracing the grains and knots in the wood with her eyes, “I’ve always had it short so… I want to try something different. I mean something needs to change.” 

“Not that things haven’t changed, but like… aren’t things supposed to be different? People are back, and new people are on the island… but I keep having nightmares.” She sighed, closing her eyes and covering her face with her hand, “Sorry… that’s a downer note to end it on. I’ll see you later Wake. I can’t wait to see you again.” 

The beak closed again and Calliope told it where to go. 

She felt ridiculous for having such a wild swing of emotion in the span of ten minutes, but… she got the feeling Wake would understand. He did seem kinda acquainted with this sort of thing. 

* * *

It was while training when he noticed the familiar bird land on the ship, positioning itself on a barrel, staring at him as he and Nedra wrapped up their training for the day, “Alright Nedra, you’re going to do some homework for me. This time you’re going to try writing the letter ‘H’.”

“Okay!” She dropped to the deck with a heavy  _ thunk  _ and an audible groan from Yeldin, not that she minded. She crossed her legs and accepted the paper and pencil given to her by Wake before staring intensely at the paper before her and very carefully tracing the letter. 

Wake smiled, picking up the seagull without as much drama as last time, tucking it beneath his arm as he slipped his way below deck and ducking into his room without a word. No one seemed to notice him this time. 

He seated himself on the floor, letting the message play out for him. 

The message started simply enough but his smile slowly warped into something a little more concerned. Something wasn’t right? The nightmares… he knows those a little too well. Did she think it would be over so soon? Well… he never did really ask her about that. He was always just  _ being  _ around her and it never came up in conversation. 

His fingers fidgeted at the base of his spear, tracing etchings on the handle. His eyes closed and he sighed. 

“Yeah, we’re definitely coming back around. Probably not immediately but soon… And…” He sighed again, dragging a hand down his face, “Things- I… Sometimes there are nightmares when it comes to things like this. It doesn’t really go away, even after things get better. Sometimes the memories come back and you forget that it’s not… then. That it’s now.” 

 

Wake paused again, an idea crossing his mind, “I’m not sure if it’d work for you, but… it helped me a bit. When I come back around, how about I train you? I can show you how to meditate. And maybe a few things to defend yourself with. You don’t have to- it just- might help…? It’s something to think about I guess. And…  I uh. Can’t wait to see you too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We don't need beta readers we post the first draft like men. Also If you liked it, a kudos would be appreciated <3 I want to keep writing this for those who read.


	3. Chapter 3

Calliope sat at the docks, watching the sky as the dawn crested. The world was quiet, save for the fisherman leaving for the sea and those who returned to Vennin in the early morning. She never really had an opportunity like this, just existing and soaking in peace. She was so used to waking up early just for the sake of checking her traps. Hell, she even reflexively reached for her knife when she woke up this morning.

Old habits were hard to kill.

She nodded to the dock workers that passed by her every so often, sometimes offering her a good morning as she waited for a familiar ship to come to the docks.

Her fingers toyed with the glass shark that hung from her neck, twisting it round and around and tracing the dips and curves that constructed it. Calliope couldn’t sit idle. She had been trying for the past week after Wake gave her instructions on how to start meditating, but it didn’t feel like she was doing it right.

_‘When are they gonna be heeeeeere.’_ Calliope thought to herself, pouting and trying to make heads or tails of another ship coming from the distance. She had been sitting here for an hour, anxiously watching dingeys and ferries come and go as she waited for the Yeldin. At least the people at the dock would mind their own business.

She squinted as the ship drew closer, the size of it significantly larger than a good number of the others around. The flag it had raised was unique; blue and green, with the flowing pattern of a tree blending into a wave.

Did they get a flag?

Did the Yeldin get a flag?

Calliope’s heart leapt into her mouth as the dawning realization hit her. She was going to be face to face with Wake again, and she was going to need to play it cool. She read the novels, she knew what she had to do. After all, she was the protagonist. Not that she was sure what kind of protagonist she was going to be, but she was the protagonist nonetheless.

Calliope paced, formulating a plan as she became increasingly aware of the fact that, yes, this was the Yeldin. Yes her crush was roughly an hour from her.

_‘Alright. What I’m gonna do is make a good conversation with Wake, opening up with a smoothly delivered “Hello”. Let him see my pretty eyes like the girl in Seadrift Hearts. Wait that was a book about a merman romance. Fuck is that how this thing happened? No no focus Calliope, we’re gonna get a boy to like you!’_ She gave herself an internal pep talk, her expressions changing as she thought her plans through. Slightly confused workers watched her and mumbled as they passed. _‘We’re gonna be charming. We’re gonna be demure. And most of all we are not. Letting. Emotions. Take. Over!’_

She fistpumped and steeled herself, watching the boat pull into port. Calliope could see the signs of life stirring on deck. Pliskin was at the wheel, much to Calliope’s surprise, and the others worked to make their docking as smooth as possible. She could also see the familiar face of a certain merman.

_‘Showtime.’_

Wake did a double take as he noticed her standing on the dock, and she couldn’t help but laugh. He probably didn’t expect to see her out this early. The rest of Venin was only now starting to wake up, and here she was watching them come to port.

She could see Wake glancing between her and the others onboard, and he walked away from the railing, the sound of something hitting the water following short after.

Calliope paused, wondering if that was Wake or anchors, and lo and behold a pair of webbed hands planted themselves on the docks. Wake pulled himself up with ease, standing up and pushing his hair back with a small smile. He seemed a little deeper blue than usual. He also seemed to be steaming a bit.

She stared at him, unsure what to make of him or herself or just the fact she was seeing him again, so she did the first thing her mind told her to do. Calliope threw her arms around him and hugged him, not caring a bit that she was getting wet in the process.

“Uh-” the steam tickled her face, and she looked up at him, his face an even deeper shade. Was this a good thing? It had to be a good thing, right?

Though it took him a moment to compose himself, he successfully hugged her back. It wasn’t a very tight hug, but it felt comforting. Calliope broke the embrace as she stepped back, attempting to remember what all her years of reading books taught her, but nothing was coming back to her.

“I’m uh…” Wake broke the silence, “I’m glad to see you again Calliope.” Something flickered across his face and he spoke more confidently, “How’ve you been doing on the meditating?”

_Fuck_ , “Oh ah- I’m doing alright. Just trying to get the hang of it.” She laughed, hoping to play it off.

“I know it’s not exactly the most interesting thing in the world…” He gestured vaguely as his sentence trailed off, caught between hoping she’d catch his drift and trying to remember what words mean.

“I mean like. I’m just fidgety ‘n stuff. Little hard to just not think after years of non-stop alertness.” Calliope sighed, folding her hands behind her back, “But I guess it’s just something I gotta condition myself for. But… at least I have you here to help me out with it?”

Wake seemed surprised by her statement, but his shy smile made it seem like it was a good thing to say, “Yeah… I’m here.”

A moment passed between them, but it didn’t feel awkward. Calliope simply took his hand in hers and lead him away from the docks. His hands felt oddly clammy. She wasn’t sure if it was anxiety or the fishman thing, but despite that it felt nice to hold.

“Oh hey, Wake?” She asked, “I’ve been looking for the books about the Ashdrakes ever since you told me about them.”

“Oh my god really?!” Wake’s face lit up, “They’re the coolest! Have you found any of them? I have, like, all of their adventures in my room on the Yeldin!”

Calliope giggled. “Turns out my grandpa had a few books on their adventures stowed away in the attic. They’re all early editions! Because, like, Fritz is new to the scene and he’s the cocky prodigy that still needed to get some hard experience. I just completely devoured the first one I got.”

“Ohmygod which volume is it? Is it the one with the Ghost ship or the Clocktower?”

“Clocktower?”

_“Oh my god-_ I’m not gonna spoil it. That one’s my favorite for them, and you’re gonna love it if you like the other volumes.”

Calliope laughed louder, her own excitement bubbling over books, “I read the ghost ship one! Oh my god I finished it last night because I just couldn’t put it down. Like, when Fritz got pinned to the wall by that feral monster? And before it could sink its teeth into his neck, Gabriel BURSTS in and drove it away!” She threw her arms up emphatically, squealing as she recounted it.

“And when it tried to get away from Mite?!”

“YES!”

“Oh my god I need to tell Ezra about that idea, flour on the ground so we can find invisible enemies.” Wake grinned ear to ear, steam still faintly rising from his body as the pair’s excitement couldn’t help but draw eyes from passersby.

“Have you ever even fought invisible people before?” Calliope cocked her head. “I didn’t think that’d be a common thing in real life.”

“Oh yeah, we fought someone who did that. I’m not sure what it _was_ but it bit Ezra, so that was bad.” Wake shrugged, “It was so creepy. It was like our own ghost ship.”

Calliope’s nose twitched, deer-like ear flapping with thought, “Ever consider writing?”

He sucked on his teeth, mulling it over, but he shook his head and sighed, “Mnnno? It doesn’t really feel like something I’d be good at. I think the extent I can work with is teaching Nedra how to read.”

She nodded, not sure how to progress that line of thought further. Calliope hadn’t really thought about her own talents since she got back to normal life. Though she was still a stranger to ‘normal’. But it didn’t bother her as much right now.

The streets started coming to life; awnings raised above the stands filled to burst with produce, bakery windows opening as fresh bread is pulled from the oven. Calliope inhaled through her nose and felt peace. Even if she didn’t hear what Wake just said.

“Mm?”

“Uh… you don’t need to keep holding my hand. I can keep up with you.”

“Oh-!” Calliope snatched her hand away, embarrassed by it.

Wake’s mouth opened, a small croaking noise being the only thing to come out. He cleared his throat, scales deeper blue as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head, “I… y-you don’t…”

Calliope was too embarrassed to even register what he was trying to mumble out, and she resisted the urge to tug on her ears. An extremely old habit that still somehow hadn’t died yet.

The silence that was comfortable before became palpably more awkward as Calliope lead him away from the bustle of Vennin’s docks. She was going to show him some stuff they never really got to look over last time, mostly because a certain wendigo was a more pressing issue at the time.

But now, she could do as she pleased, and what she pleased was exploring the reclaimed island.

“So… I didn’t really have a plan going into all of this.” She admitted through the side of her mouth, chewing on her cheek all the while, “I just kinda wanted to explore this place and it seemed like you’d want to do that too. Plus, there’s a ton of water where we’re going and I can’t think of a better swimmer than a merman.”

Calliope gave a crooked smile, Wake’s face visibly relaxing.

“Where are we going to explore then?”

“The old faun village. The one that got swallowed up by water when the Wendigo came around.” She lead them off to an old abandoned road, overgrown by bushes and weeds, “I used to take this road as a kid. Sometimes mom and dad would give me pocket money and let me just run off to the beach. I’d spend hours out there.”

The memory felt warm, still vivid in her mind even after all these years. Her hooves still followed the slope of the earth as it lead to where the stairs down the hill would go. Calliope sighed as they reached the decline, dilapidated wooden stairs leading into flood waters that still linger in the lowest parts of the city.

Despite the weeks of effort, draining the village was no easy task. Buildings remained mostly submerged, few structures still stood above the green-blue murk. Most of the buildings were swollen from years of water damage. The majority had presumably collapsed, but a handful still stood, rooves barely visible above the water line. Though one proud stone building remained, sporting a coat of moss.

Wake gave a low whistle as they looked the area over. “I didn’t know it got this bad.”

“I knew. It’s been a while since I’ve been here though.” Calliope stepped onto one of the stairs, testing to see if it could hold her weight.

It croaked, the wood still too soft for comfort, but it was passable for the time being.

“I wanted to see if anything even survived all these years. Clothes… dolls… I dunno. Maybe there are still papers over there.” She pointed to the one building that still stood above the water, one completely untouched floor, “I think that was a place of business. I’m not fully sure anyway. I was 9 when it all flooded.”

Wake nodded, pulling off one of his boots. Calliope stripped out of her blouse, not wanting to get her clothes wet. It was more practical to just leave dry clothing behind to come back to. She’d rather just get her undergarments wet than her whole outfit.

She was midway through pulling her shorts off when she noticed Wake, mouth agape with plumes of steam rising off of him.

“Uh. You alright?”

He flinched, snapping back to reality, “Yep- yep yep just fine yeah.” He laughed nervously, averting his gaze as he pulled his other shoe off. Calliope shrugged it off, setting her clothes next to Wake’s shoes.

“I hope you don’t mind the fact I can’t swim.”

“Wait-” He raised his hand, gears in his head desperately spinning, “Then why did you?”

“I figured I could just hold on to your back while you swam. I don’t wanna just sit off to the side while you go roaming around the ruins. Just set me on a roof when you wanna go down.” Calliope smiled, unaware of any potential implication that could come from that.

Wake closed his eyes, inhaling through his nose before wordlessly throwing himself into the water.

“Mother fuck-” Calliope was ready to stomp into the water herself when bubbles rapidly rose to the top, followed shortly behind Wake’s blank face, “Er…”

He didn’t say a word, simply turning his back to her and gestured for her. Calliope waded into the water, surprised by how warm it was as she wrapped her arms around Wake’s neck. The lower half of his body was already a tail, and it was a little odd to feel it in motion. His body was so fluid when swimming, even when he was deliberately swimming slower so she could hold on easier, she could tell how strong Wake was.

Calliope steered him through the waterlogged streets, winding between the buildings; which were a lot closer to the surface than she initially thought. It’s a lot easier to tell when up close, even if a good chunk of it vanished into nothing but murk not too far from the surface.

“Over there.” She pointed just up the road, “That’s where my old house should be.”

“Okee dokee.” Wake picked up a little pace, holding on to her haunches as he sped up. Calliope’s eyes narrowed as they drew closer, sighing with relief to see that the roof still seemed intact. If it’s still standing, odds are the rest of the building was too.

Wake swam close enough to make sure she was safely above water, “So what exactly do you want me to look for? Anything specific.”

“Well I mean. I had this old doll that my mom gave me.” Calliope blushed, “I couldn’t take it with me when we had to evacuate. It’s made from like… burlap. It was the least comfortable thing to cuddle but it was mine and I loved it.”

Wake paused, a small smile on his features before nodding, “So what does it look like?”

“It’s supposed to look like a faun. Mom wanted it to look like me.” He nodded, diving below the water. His tail skimmed the surface before delving with him, and Calliope couldn’t help but wonder what it was like to have one. Did it work like one large leg or two legs strapped together?

She’d have to ask him when he came back up.

Calliope propped her chin in her palm, staring out over the ruins. Some hoodlums already got to the area as different walls closer to the water’s edge were tagged with names or just doodles. Inevitably it’d get cleaned off after the area was cleared out, but it was likely going to take some time. The village was a basin, there’s no easy way to drain something when it all pooled in a specific area.  

She sighed, stretching out on the tiles, soaking in the sunlight. The shallow water lapped around her, and she could honestly say that, since she had gotten back home after everything was settled, this was the first time she felt truly at peace.

The gentle sounds of water moving was interrupted as Wake resurfaced, a bogged down sack doll proudly raised above his head. Calliope squealed, grinning ear to ear as Wake swam up to her, sitting with her on the roof as she took the gross doll in her hands. It was covered in slimy algae, an eye was missing, and the thread was swollen after years of being underwater; but she held it close anyway, hugging it to her chest with a gross ‘squish’.

Calliope sighed, setting it in her lap, “God… I never thought I’d see this old thing again.”

“Yeah?” Wake sat next to her, tail switching back to legs.

“Yeah. I actually forgot about it until recently. I don’t even know why, I just thought about this old place and my doll and I just… needed to know if it was still here. It needs a lot of love but it’s still here.”

He propped himself up on the heel of his palm, looking out over the water, “You said your mom made it right?”

“Oh yeah. Some boys in town kept making fun of me, and one of them took my first doll. And they kept playing keepaway and at some point it just… ripped. When I came home crying, Mom decided to make me a new doll that would be more durable. And then she made… Miss Pretty.” Calliope smiled sheepishly, waving the heavy doll back and forth and Wake laughed softly.

“My mom wasn’t really the crafty type. I mean… I don’t think she was.” His brow furrowed, gaze moving up to the sky, “I remember bits and pieces about her and Dad.”

“Like what?”

“Well. Mom was a druid. That I remember really well…” He sighed, “But I also remember that she was… pretty. And that she would always show me different creatures. The first thing I even remember about her was her telling me to be gentle when petting this sea turtle she brought me up to.”

Calliope smiled, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her cheek on them, “Your mom sounds pretty great.”

“She was. I think I look more like her than my dad. I always remember him being more like... “ He gestured vaguely, “Larger than life. But I was a kid so y’know.”

“Yeah. I thought of my dad the same way. He was the big ol’ village leader that came after my grandpa. He was really intimidating. He had these massive antlers and I don’t think I ever saw him smile at anyone other than me and mom.” She smiled, reminiscing about her parents. “I used to catch them slow dancing in the kitchen.”

Calliope sighed, glancing at Wake and blushing faintly when their eyes met. She immediately looked away.  

A moment passed between them, and the sounds of nature filled the space left open. Calliope scooted closer to Wake, making a token attempt to be subtle, though she really didn’t care if he noticed or not. She leaned in, resting her head on his shoulder, and to her surprise Wake didn’t even flinch. He just sighed and accepted the weight.

“Do… you wanna go explore more?” He asked quietly, moving his arm. Some part of her really wanted him to just wrap it around her waist, but he didn’t. He just kept his hand planted on the roof.

“Nah. Not yet.” She sighed comfortably. “We got the rest of the day. Lemme have this.”

“O-okay…” Wake’s tone sounded hopeful.

“Hey, Wake.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you promise that you’ll visit me. Just… when you guys can, could you come around here? I got used to you.” She gave a small laugh, looking up at him.  

“Yeah. I promise.”

“Good. Also. Promise that you’ll come back in one piece.”

“Well-”

“Mostly in one piece. You can miss an arm or a leg.”

Wake laughed quietly, “Yeah. Yeah I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually got inspiration for the flooded faun village from the old Monte Ne inn up here in Arkansas, it's this old old hotel that was built 100 years ago that got flooded. Lotta tourists come see it, lotta tourists accidentally back their cars into the lake there.


End file.
